Youth Soccer Update: Serna, Rogers, O'Neill in the news

DILLON SERNA STARS IN U-18 NATIONAL TEAM CAMP: Colorado Rapids Academy player Dillon Serna stood out in the U-18 National Team Camp, which was held from March 25 to April 1, scoring two second half goals to earn his team a 2-1 victory in an intrasquad scrimmage on Wednesday, March 28 at The Home Depot Center. Three days later, Serna once again impressed in a game against Ventura County Fusion (PDL) with two assists in the U.S.’s 3-2 victory. Serna was called up by head coach Javier Perez along with 34 other players, all of whom are eligible for the 2013 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. TopDrawerSoccer.com provides recaps of both matches; click here for March 28 and here for March 31. Serna was also featured on the 16th page of this month’s edition of Mile High Sports Magazine, available by clicking here.

FOUR RAPIDS ACADEMY PLAYERS WILL TRAVEL TO SALT LAKE FOR RESERVE MATCH: This weekend, four Colorado Rapids Academy players, Dillon Serna, Shane O’Neill, Ricardo Perez and Isaac Martinez, will travel with the Colorado Rapids team to Real Salt Lake to participate in the Reserve game on Sunday, April 8. All four were also called up for the Reserves match on Monday, April 2 against Chicago, in which Serna played the final 13 minutes of the 2-1 victory.

THE UNDER-18 ACADEMY TEAM REMAINS UNDEFEATED: The Colorado Rapids Under-18 Academy team extended their unbeaten streak to 10 games (7-0-3 in the Central Conference and 3-0-0 in the Frontier Division) after defeating Sporting Kansas City twice last weekend. Shane O’Neill and Daniel Neverez (2) contributed goals in a 3-2 victory on Saturday, while Idrissa Camara netted two to give the Rapids a 2-0 victory on Sunday. The team next travels to Minnesota along with the U-16’s to face Minnesota Thunder Academy and Shattuck-Saint Mary’s Soccer Academy on April 14 and 15 respectively. For more information on the youth teams and schedule, visit www.ColoradoRapids.com/youth.

UNDER-16 ACADEMY TEAM AT THE TOP OF THE TABLE: The Colorado Rapids Under-16 Academy Squad currently sits tied for first with two other teams in the Central Conference of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. The team is 5-2-3 overall and earned a loss and a tie against Sporting Kansas City this past weekend. Gustavo Montes and Kurt Young scored a goal each for the Rapids as they fell 3-1 on Saturday and drew 1-1 on Sunday. With the holiday weekend, the U-16’s do not play again until April 14 and 15 when they take on the Minnesota Thunder Academy and Shattuck-Saint Mary’s Soccer Academy in Minnesota. For more information on the youth teams and schedule, visit www.ColoradoRapids.com/youth.

RAPIDS ACADEMY PRODUCT JAMES ROGERS CALLED UP TO U-20 NATIONAL TEAM: James Rogers, a freshman at the University of New Mexico and former Colorado Rapids Academy player, has been called up to the Under-20 Men’s National Team Training Camp by coach Tab Ramos. Ramos selected 24 players to participate in the camp, which will run from April 9-16 in Portland, Ore., and features a match against the University of Washington on April 15. Rogers played for the Colorado Rapids Youth Academy from 2009-11 and was the golden boot winner in the SUM Cup 2008.

ESPNHS RANKS COLORADO RAPIDS U-18 ACADEMY TEAM FOURTH: The Colorado Rapids U-18 Academy Team continues to improve and was recently ranked fourth by ESPNHS in their weekly U.S. Soccer Development Academy (USDA) rankings. The Rapids U-18s are one of two teams to remain undefeated on the season across the entire USDA. The Rapids are surpassed only by LA Galaxy (1), FC Dallas (2), and Sockers FC (3) of Chicago in a ranking based on performance and results from the prior weeks. The original article ranking the top ten Development Academy teams is available by clicking here.